Oakland Cemetery to include columbariumsThe Oakland Cemetery Commission approved a plat for a memorial garden addition that would include two columbariums during its regular meeting Tuesday at City Hall. Commissioners reviewed hexagonal structures that hold urns, called columbariums, and proposed costs from two companies. One columbarium would include 72 units and be placed along the north-south property line in the cemetery. A preliminary design for a memorial garden would include ...

Inmate dies after prison stabbingSEARCY (AP) — The Arkansas Department of Correction says an inmate treated and released from a hospital following a stabbing has died. Joe Harter, 32, was pronounced dead Wednesday morning at a Searcy hospital. Department officials say he was stabbed in the chest Monday during an altercation with another inmate at the Grimes Unit in Newport. They say a homemade weapon was confiscated after the attack. The identity of the other inmate hasn't be...

Little Rock council rejects police residency requirementLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Little Rock City Council has rejected a proposal to require newly hired police officers to live within city limits. The council voted 6-4 Tuesday night against the residency requirement following nearly two hours of discussion and public comment. Councilwoman Erma Hendrix says her proposal was designed to better race relations following high-profile police shootings of black men. She says only 21 percent of the city's 35...

Lawmaker who gave away girls won't seek re-electionLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas lawmaker who gave his adopted daughters to a man who later admitted to sexually assaulting one of them says he won't seek re-election in 2016. Republican Rep. Justin Harris of West Fork says he made the decision about a month ago. Harris says he previously considered stepping back but acknowledged the decision was influenced by the widespread scrutiny following a March Arkansas Times article detailing Harris' act...

Board OKs strategic plan that incorporates volunteer effortsNORFORK (AP) — The Arkansas Board of Corrections has approved a strategic plan that incorporates both faith-based and community-based volunteers. The 2015-19 strategic plans for both the Correction and the Community Correction departments outline ways to increase volunteer participation to teach life skills, offer tutoring and other activities through the state's facilities and programs. The board said volunteer efforts are key to cutting cost...

Fire forces city offices to relocate to high school buildingSTEPHENS (AP) — City offices in Stephens have been relocated to an old high school building after a fire destroyed the municipal building. A blaze last week destroyed the Stephens Municipal Building, which housed the mayor's office as well as the police and water departments. It took firefighters around three hours to extinguish the Thursday night fire. Stephens Mayor Harry Brown said the exact cause is still under investigation. But he says t...

Former Lt. Gov. Mark Darr, wife file for bankruptcyLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Former Arkansas Lt. Gov. Mark Darr and his wife have filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection. Court documents show Darr and Kimberly Darr have assets of $29,900 and debts of $78,099.70. The largest asset is a 2010 Cadillac SRX while the debts include nearly $10,000 to credit card companies and $18,735 to Ford Motor Credit Corp. Darr is a Republican from Springdale who resigned as lieutenant governor on Feb. 1, 2014, after...

Recent rains put damper on wheat harvestLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Late winter and early spring rains across Arkansas have put a damper on the 2015 wheat harvest in the state. The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service reports that total production was just more than 19 million bushels, down from almost 25 million bushels in 2014. The yield averaged out at 56 bushels per acre, seven bushels per acre less than the 63 bushels per acre harvested last year. "It'...

Arkansas to recheck eligibility of Medicaid recipientsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Department of Human Services is set to begin rechecking the eligibility of Medicaid recipients in the state on Monday. The checks are required annually, but DHS Director John Selig said they have been delayed by difficulties in replacing a 25-year-old computerized eligibility and enrollment system. The department will begin reviewing the eligibility of enrollees by using wage information from state Department of...

Board rejects changing standardized test providerLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas state Board of Education has rejected a recommendation endorsed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to change the provider of standardized tests. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the board voted 7-1 Thursday against moving from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers — or PARCC — tests to ACT tests. Hutchinson said he's disappointed and that he will work with the board and the education commi...

Department of Justice investigating women's prisonLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating allegations of sexual abuse and harassment at the Arkansas Department of Correction's McPherson Unit. The prison in Newport houses female prisoners. The Department of Justice said in a news release Thursday that it has received allegations that prison staff had sex with prisoners, exchanged commissary money for sexual favors and made inappropriate comments to prisoners while th...

Governor heading to Europe to recruit businessLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Thursday that he will leave this weekend for an economic development trip to France and Germany to recruit foreign companies to bring their operations to Arkansas. The weeklong trip will tout the state's aerospace and steel production industries with stops at the Paris Air Show and the METEC International Metallurgical Trade Fair in Dusseldorf, Germany. Hutchinson, who is leaving Saturday, s...

Governor cracks down on state contract practicesLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has sent a letter to state lawmakers updating them on his efforts to improve state contract practices after issues arose with contracts at the state Department of Human Services. Hutchinson released the two-page letter Thursday. It recaps the steps his office has taken to make the state's procurement system more accountable, including requiring all information technology contracts worth more than...

Tiny town of Concord faces lawsuit over traffic stopsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The tiny town of Concord is facing a federal civil-rights lawsuit from drivers who say they were pulled over as part of a money making ploy by police. The suit filed Tuesday claims that "over a period of several years, literally hundreds of persons were stopped ostensibly for having an 'improper display of tags' or 'no license plate lamp' or some other pretextual reason solely for the underlying purpose of issuing citations ...

Panel OKs contractor fronting expected shortfall in projectLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A state transportation panel has approved a financing plan in which a contractor eventually picked for a highway project would bankroll part of the work until the state can raise enough money to repay it. Highway officials say they have up to $450 million set aside for the project to improve the Interstate 30 corridor through downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock, but that it could cost more. The state Highway Commissio...

Proposal to restore previous term limits submittedLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A group that wants to return term limits for Arkansas state legislators to 10 years has submitted a proposed ballot title for a state constitutional amendment. Arkansas Term Limits on Thursday provided the proposal to Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. Rutledge must approve the ballot title before the group can start gathering the estimated 82,000 signatures of registered voters that will be needed to put the question on the ...

Little Rock police chief reprimanded for losing handgunLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Little Rock officials have reprimanded the police chief for losing his city-issued handgun. A written reprimand was issued to Police Chief Kenton Buckner on Tuesday after he reported one of his city-issued firearms as lost or stolen. Buckner said he moved over the Memorial Day weekend and can't find his backup handgun, a .40-caliber Glock 27. The written reprimand was the only disciplinary action taken against Buckner, who s...

Lawmakers seeking more feedbackWASHINGTON — All four U.S. Representatives and both U.S. senators who represent Arkansas joined Rep. Lamar Alexander and requested Tuesday that the Department of Energy (DOE) extend the comment period for the need and feasibility review of the Plains & Eastern Clean Line transmission project. U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) of Dardanelle — along with Congressmen Rick Crawford (AR-01), French Hill (AR-02), Steve Womack (...

Pilots want all hangar leases extendedThe Russellville City Council’s Finance Committee voted to extend the hangar lease at Russellville Regional Airport for a prospective business, but many pilots left Tuesday’s meeting without a similar agreement. Airport Director Keith Frazier told aldermen the Airport Commission recommended to extend the hangar lease for Precision Applicators. Frazier said he thought the council should do whatever is in the best economic interest of the airpor...

Arkansas seeking rehearing in 12-week abortion ban caseLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Attorney General's Office is seeking a rehearing before the U.S. appeals court that agreed last month with a lower court that a state law unconstitutionally burdens women by banning abortions after the 12th week of pregnancy if a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge filed a 19-page petition Wednesday seeking a rehearing before the entire 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The cou...